Joan Rivers, you just crack me up!

Out of my box

I have a tendency to tackle those projects that fall within my self imposed safe zone. 

A challenge (of the crochet kind) was posed a couple of days ago and it required me to step out of my comfort zone.  I didn't have a true pattern and would need to put this together in bits and pieces.  Bit by bit, I found the necessary elements, making up some of it as i went!  It turned out to be a fairly easy accomplishment and now that I've done it, I want to make another!   Made for a sweet friend of mine who has a friend expecting a little girl in July!

Lesson learned?   Safe zones aren't all they're cracked up to be!

Just Checking In

I've become a lost soul in the world of blog!  I comment very sporadically, but I really DO keep up with your posts, dear blogger buddies!  I'm not quite as active with crochet these days...although I AM still hooking!  I will have things to share in the not too distant future!  I think I turn to Instagram for quick posts these days.  I know I've found some of you on IG...and we see each other there.  If I haven't found you yet, please let me know your username in the comments below...I would love to find and follow you.  I am @FROMANYANGLE.  

Little Miss Sunshine marked her nine month anniversary of birth.  She outgrew the first watermelon dress I'd made for her newborn self...so I made a new one.  This has room for growing...but her Mommy was sweet enough to take this photo of her wearing the dress.  It's so fun to see it on her!

I'll be back soon!  Don't give up on me!  

Crystals and Lace

 

I've taken a wee break from my work on circles/yoyos/wheels.

I have to admit, this little diversion has given me a bit of angst! There was a time when my passion was jewelry that I made from Swarovski crystals. (I'll have to do a post in the not too distant future to share some of those goodies. If you've ever been to Disneyland in Los Angeles, it reminds me of what the skeleton of the "lady of the night" has surrounding her in bed.)

Having had that crystal passion for a few years, I have an entire cabinet of "stash" crystals. I haven't touched them for some time now.

I made this cute little collar yesterday with the idea of joining it in the back with a chain. I went to the craft store to investigate what I'd need and, while there, I realized that I had everything I needed in a drawer at home! In fact, this would be something unique as I haven't seen it done anywhere else as yet. But then the angst began as I tried to remember HOW to do it all! LOL Darn this getting old stuff! The computer that is my mind does these involuntary downloads without my permission! New ideas fill the crevices where the old info was stored and it's really difficult to bring the old back to the surface again! LOL

At last, after much angst and fuss, I was able to pull all the needles and wires and beads and crimps and crimp beads together...and I'm pretty excited about this one! The possibilities are endless. I'm thinking a cute little black something to go with a cute little black dress next! I haven't blocked this yet...but plan to do so this evening...just had to share with you...NOW! I kinda sorta L.O.V.E. it!

Thanks for visiting!

And So it Grows...

The squares of yoyos are multiplying. 

I had more time than I'd expected to work on it this past weekend. The different colors are taking on their very own personae.

The yellow square is "Emergency Room, Night 1". 

The pink square is "Emergency Room, Night 2". 

Yes, indeed...two all-nighters, separated by one night of some sleep. I think I've lost this past weekend...starting with last Thursday night. Without the crochet to focus my mind, I wouldn't have held it together as well. Sitting bed-side in a hard chair with a straight back for the wee hours of the night (when I'm typically asleep) is nothing short of torture. I'm sure there are many of you out there who can relate. I haven't had to do such a thing since my Mom passed in 2003...and I was younger then!

So, the hubster has pneumonia. Thursday night's ER visit began with uncontrollable coughing at home. I'm quite surprised that parts of his lungs didn't appear! Mercy! Nothing I did could soothe it - and we finally had to resolve ourselves to an ER visit. A chest x-ray revealed the culprit. He's a long time smoker, so we had our worries as to exactly what it would be. Thankfully, he stopped smoking last year - or I'm sure it would have been even more aggravated. We were sent home with all the goodies to treat it...but then the uncontrolled coughing kicked in again two nights later and we couldn't get it stopped. Off to the ER again...this time further testing and blood work. He's done some air travel this year and they wanted to rule out any clots in the lungs...and they did. Some steroids, a breathing treatment - and we were on our way home again just before daybreak. Ugh!

So, the yoyos entertained me. A tech of some sort came into the room at one point (I had just started the pink square) and he wanted to know what I was making. I told him it would be a blanket eventually. He offered me the sage words of "you have a long way to go". Why, thank you, young man! One must have to get up early to get anything past you! LOL He didn't know of all the other squares that were waiting to take their places beside the pink - and he was smiling and being cute, so he is forgiven.

The sick one felt the need to check in at the office this morning (against my better judgment) - so I have spent the morning trying to gather my wits! I feel so out of control when things are askew. I needed to re-order all my little ducks. There they are in a row...that's better!!! Yoyos in a row, ducks in a row...life is better now.  And so it grows...more updates to follow.

Thanks for looking!!!!!!

Conquered!

Back when the art of crochet was starting to seep into my creative soul, I happened upon this beautiful design by Sunshine Creations. I was instantly smitten. Call them yo yos, sea pennies...whatever...i just couldn't imagine how she had accomplished this! Comments on her blog as well as those attached to her photo on Flickr indicated they were NOT individual circles that were joined, but were instead accomplished with a chain method.   How could that be? What did she do to achieve this result?

Fast forward to last week.  I was getting a b'day gift for my BFF at Barnes & Noble and just HAD TO walk through the "Crochet" section.  I was happy to see that they have a few new offerings and are expanding their selections.  I found a couple of titles that grabbed me - one of those is pictured at the end of this post below.  As I perused it, I found a motif that grabbed me.  I didn't realize it, but it was something that was about to unlock the key to how the chained circles had been accomplished!  I made a sample motif - just because I was intrigued by the design - and only after making it and staring at it did it hit me...THAT was how she did it!  So I changed the plan of attack from what was written in the book and I started doing my own thing.  And here is what I came up with!

I DID IT!!!!!!

So my first square is done...the colors are a little blue here...in reality, it's all shades of teal/green.  I have visions of squares in other colors of the rainbow - and I am off to visit Hobby Lobby in order to fill in a few shades I need to accomplish the other squares.  I'm using Caron Simply Soft for this.  The original by Sunshine Creations was done in size 10 crochet thread!  Each circle was the size of a DIME!  Good Lord...the work involved in THAT!  I don't have local access to the shade variations in size 10 crochet thread, so I chose a thinner yarn that has the silky look. 

This one will take some time to complete, but I'll be back to you for a grand reveal when it's all done.  I can't tell you how much it thrilled me to conquer this pattern!  Yippeeeee!

The book that opened the door for me...

Warming Chubby Little Legs

Once again, I found something on Pinterest that struck a chord in my creative soul. The blog post that was pinned is here.  This is the photo (photo credit to Make it Cozee) that you will find there that caught my eye!

Gah! How cute is that??????? If you click the blog link above to find a pattern, it will take a few steps to get down to the actual pattern - so here is a shortcut directly to the pattern link written by author, Craft Crazy Mom.

As "Make it Cozee" did, I also used the boot cuff pattern as a starting point and just made it longer to create the leg warmer. I worked a ribbed cuff at the bottom of my leg warmer as well as at the top, rather than leaving it plain at the bottom. I liked the look of the cuff.

These are so easily customized for any leg size - adult or child. You really just need to measure the circumference of the person's calf and work your ribbed cuff to that length. It needs to fit rather snugly so it won't slip.

Once you know the circumference, decide on the length you'll need (will it go up over the knee or be just calf high?) by measuring the length of the leg.

I had a bit of a struggle with the pattern, understanding exactly where to work my double crochets once I started the length part, but I finally figured it out!

You may or may not notice, the ivory pair are worked in a different stitch. I used the varied lozenge stitch on those...and it worked out beautifully. For those that read my blog regularly, that was the stitch used for the luxurious hand warmers I shared here. I loved the way it worked up on the leg warmers. I used Caron Simply Soft for that pair. Silky and soft and wonderful. The pink and pastel variegated are also Simply Soft. The turquoise pair are a Baby Bee yarn. I did not work the bottom ribbing on the turquoise pair.

This is a very versatile pattern/concept...once you know the circumference of someone's leg, you work your ribbing (in rows), join it and begin the stitch that will become the length of the leg (worked in rounds). That stitch could be just about anything! Be creative! Working the rib cuff at the bottom is a bit tricky, but really just the opposite of the top ribbing, worked into the bottom of your leg length. After joining your last round at the bottom of the leg, chain up (I used 6 sts) and begin working in rows again, joining every other row back into the spaces between stitches at the bottom of your leg rounds. If there are readers out there interested in conquering this concept, let me know in the comments and I will do a couple of photos in a separate post.

Thanks for stopping in to visit!  Eileen...get busy!  These will be adorable on your grand baby!